Pensees as Some Might Say
On Mortality and Morality:
There is an old adage that says “life is short,” and no matter how old one lives to be, the statement remains true for all.
What is 100 years in the span of eons?
In discussing the mortality of man, it can be said that it can not be escaped. Cheating death is impossible and is only chased by the unprepared. To greet death as a welcome friend is the goal, and it can be attained only by the moral and the right.
Don’t all fear death? No, it only seems that way. The fear of dying does not exist. It is the final judgement they fear, it is the consequences for their immorality they fear, it is the so-called unknown they fear; they do not fear death itself. There are some, those rare few, who live life well and are able to greet the end content with their share and without any fear at all.
Those great few who are ready to die in their righteousness do not have cause to fear. They embrace their limited selves, they lean into the condition of mortality that inflicts all the same. They live life well. They live life right. They die the way they lived and are rewarded by the Maker.
On the Right Life and Relativity:
What is right in an increasingly relative-oriented world?
Judges 21:25
When the moral and ethical standard is so shifted into relativism, it must be deeply considered how one could possibly dare to align themselves with true righteousness-- which is found in God alone.
God is not a relative ruler. It is God who established the earth and set time into motion; He is the instigator of righteousness and his guidelines have not changed. The challenge of righteousness is that few will take the road to its completion, and the unpopularity of the path causes many to turn back into doing right by their own judgement instead of God’s.
The encouragement is what awaits at the end of the path. Those who have lived in their faith have confidence that their toil will be rewarded. After living life right, which is living it well, God takes the righteous few to the land where sorrows cease--where joy and praise uplift the faithful servant.
On Friendship:
The road of the righteous is indeed a difficult one, made easier by friendship.
A true friend to the righteous should likewise be righteous. Iron does sharpen iron (Proverbs 27:17).
Just as the road is difficult, finding those righteous friends is as well. It is in the nature of the straight and narrow path that many would not stay on it; few possible friends remain. Out of the fellow travelers, one should hope to find just a few to share intimate friendship with.
“A friend to all is a friend to none” said Aristotle. How can Christ followers convert this thought to their belief system? How does the command to love and live peaceably with all translate to “a friend to all is a friend to none” living? The answer is simple. Christians are called to love all--this is true; the call is not contradicted by keeping only a few close to them. The number of friendships, true friendships, one has should be connected only to the number of people they share a mutual bond, mutual desire for righteousness, and mutual benefit from the friendship with.
Friendship is selective, love is not.
Psalm 133:1
Live in closeness and community with all fellow believers. It may not be natural or possible to be friends with everyone in the community of faith, but a mutual bond of love can be shared based on the conjoint aim to love, serve, and please God.
On Love:
At the center of all love should be the heart of God; His will not mine be done.
How beautiful it is that Christ explains his love for us in terms of marriage, what is often considered the pinnacle of a romantic relationship. How powerful it is to use this model to love another with the sacrificial, merciful, forgiving, and faithful love of Christ. How then does a bride anticipating the union with her love on their wedding day resemble, as a faint shadow, the anticipation of Christ.
Let love be seen in the darkness, heard in the quiet, and felt in the soul.
On Knowledge:
Epistemology is examined by all, often unknowingly; it is almost paradoxical in that way. To think about thought without knowing does seem mildly absurd. Regardless of the answer to why knowledge and thought exist and how they come to be, they are the keys to developing a meaningful life as they further one’s ability to grow, even in Christ.
Knowledge is one of the inescapable things in life. Everyone participates in the heritage of learning, thinking, and knowing in some way or another. As such, it is heralded as one of the most fundamental pillars of functioning society, and rightfully so. The value of knowledge can not be overstated; knowledge obviously integrates into every aspect of life.
On Faith and Reason:
Where many fall short is in bridging the gap between faith and reason. Reason is important, and faith is likewise important--more so even.
True faith is truly absurd.
To use reason to deduce facts of the surrounding world is a good skill and is valuable in living one’s daily life. Despite the usefulness of reason, it can only get a person so far. Faith supersedes the bounds of reason and comes with a much greater reward. Apologetics attempt to assist the closing of the distance between true faith and human understanding; these efforts are helpful in leading one to the edge, but it is in the leap off the edge where faith is found.
Many see the distance as the two contradicting one another; this is not the case. The case reason can make for having faith can be strong. A person of faith can be a reasonable person. Reasonable pieces of proof exist for the existence of God, the Creator of all things. The faith required to live for Christ is greater than all reason. To be able to ignore what reason says for the belief in more, no matter how important reason is for living, is when faith becomes real. Real faith works hand in hand with reason, using reason as a guide until the moment arrives when faith must take its leap and drop the hand of reason to grasp the hand of God.
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